


On the edge of flying

by litra



Category: For the People (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Character Study, Dragon Riders, Gen, Tests
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 01:31:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14885081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/litra/pseuds/litra
Summary: Six potential new Dragon riders prepare for a single life-changing moment.





	On the edge of flying

Allison:

She knew this was what she was meant to do. She'd known it since she was little. She was going to be a rider. She was going to defend her homeland, protect the people, help them.

She'd been training with the rest of the cadets for the last half year, preparing for the day a dragon would choose her. Tomorrow would start the rest of her life. 

She breathed in the leather and sulfer smell of the dragons. They'd been arriving for a few days, congregating in their own form of preparation. Even now a few dragons were circling overhead, in the start of the great circle.

People were pouring in as well, riders and merchants, parents of the hopeful candidates and the nobles who were connected to the riders in some way. All of them filling the outer circles of the weir to a point only seen twice a year. Her parents weren't out there but they'd sent a message. They said the University was doing well. They said her brother had put out a paper that had been very well received. They said they would welcome her home. She loved her family but a life among the stacks of the Central Library or in the classrooms of the University was not her path.

 

She looked out over the choosing ground, with her best friend beside her. She heard the call of the dragons and whatever tomorrow brought, whatever dragon chose her, she would welcome it with open arms.

 

 

Sandra:

She looked up at the circling dragons. None of those circling now would be flying tomorrow, they wouldn't want to tire themselves out before the big day. Even from down in the seats she could tell they were all adults, and only juveniles bonded with new riders.  That didn't stop her eyes from dancing between the different colors and wondering.

Tomorrow would change everything. It would lay out the path her life took for the rest of her life.

There were so many different types of dragons, each with their own speciality, their own talents. 

There were the heavy boned Stoneshields, with their smaller wingspan. They could still fly of course, all dragons could. They were slow, but strong. A Stoneshield could break down mountains, stand against rockslides. They were great with rescue work or in the guard. There were dragons of all types in the guard.

The Firebloods were the most common in the guard. They had scales like steel and could breathe fire, and they came in the most amazing colors. Sunset rainbows from red to gold with green or purple highlights.

Not that she cared what color her dragon was. She would love them no matter what. It didn't matter if they were the near colorless translucence of the CrystalPeak ice dragons or the blues and greens of the RiverWeavers or the soft blue-white sky tones of the Sonics.

The Sonics were incredible though, They were so fast, and instead of fire they had a call that could sound like flutes or trumpets if they were happy or could shatter stone if they weren't. She wouldn't mind being a Sonic rider.

"Dinner?" Allison asked.

"In a minute." 

Allison rolled her eyes,  "Okay, just make sure you eat. It won't do you any good to faint before you can get to the choosing ground tomorrow."

Sandra nodded. Allison was a good friend. She hadn't cared that Sandra was there without a patron. She hadn't asked why Sandra never got packages from her family or counted every penny when they had a rare day off. 

None of it would matter after tomorrow in any case. Once she had a dragon, once she was in the guard, she'd be free. As free as the blue sky.

 

 

Seth:

He smiled at Allison as she entered the mess hall. It was late, and on any other day it would be mostly empty by now. The cadets had been given the day off, and everyone was nervous about the next day so things were never going to be normal. Allison got a tray of food and sat down across from him.

"Hey,"

"Hi,"

"You nervous?"

Seth had been asked that a hundred times today. His family had asked when he'd gone down to the outer rings to see them. The trainers and advisors doing the final evaluations had used it as an ice breaker. All his fellow cadets all asked each other. He looked down at his mostly empty plate.

"Me, no. Why would I be nervous. I've been in the top half of the class for months. I'm not some outcast. no, I'm fine." He wasn't not really. He didn't know if it was nerves or if it was the knowledge that one way or the other everything would change. He was counting down the hours to the end of this stage of life. 

It wasn't a bad thing, not really. It didn't have to be. He just liked what he had. He liked training. He liked The dorms. He liked Allison. It was probably a bad thing that losing allison was freaking him out as much as the ceremony was. They weren't even together since he'd never gotten up the nerve to ask her out.

What if that meant he wouldn't get a dragon? Dragons were able to see their rider's soul right? what if all the dragons looked down on him and saw how much of a coward he was and decided they were better off without him? Getting chosen by a dragon was supposed to feel right, like you were coming home, but what if he wasn't chosen? 

If you weren't chosen in the first round you could stay through a second, even a third season, but everyone knew the chances went down not up. Some people were desperate, others too stubborn to see it. Johnson, sitting off in the corner was on his second season. No one sat with him. He had no friends. people pitied him. 

Seth didn't think he could do that, but what else could he do?

He'd trained to get into the academy, then he'd been in the academy and he'd had teachers and trainers. Now there was nothing left for him to do. This was judgement day and he had no idea what scale they were using.

He smiled at Allison, even while his stomach threatened to return what he'd eaten. "I'm gonna get some sleep." She nodded. Seth picked up his tray and hoped his hands weren't shaking.

 

Jay:

Jay is freaking out and he is man enough to admit it.

Currently he is hiding in the back hallway by the kitchens. He has his head between his knees and is focusing on breathing.  He's not doing so great, in that every time someone comes back to drop off a tray he freezes, lungs included, in terror that they will see him and decide he is obviously not cut out for this and kick him out before he can walk into the stadium tomorrow and embarrass himself, his teachers, his parents and every member of his extended family.

Breathing, right, breathing. In and out.

"Jay what are you doing in my hallway?" Ms, Krissman asks. He doesn't know how long she's been standing there, staring down at him. She has her hands on her hips but that doesn't mean she's going to kick him out. She's just like that. Of course it doesn't mean she's not going to kick him out either. She's the head of the dormitory. She keeps everything in order. She has the authority to do it.

"Please don't throw me out." His voice is high and shaky but all in all he thinks it's understandable. He doesn't want to get thrown out. he's worked really hard to get here. It's been his dream for so long.

"Throw you out?"

He can't tell if her voice is flat in the mocking way or the disbelieving way.

"I know dragons only choose the best and I know that's not me. not really. I mean I can pass tests but I wheeze whenever I try to run more than a quarter mile, and I can't do more then two push-ups and even my test scores aren't that great. Not compared to Leonard, or Sandra, or Kate I-am-as-close-to-perfect-as-it's-humanly-possible-to-get Littlejohn." He sucks in air and focuses on breathing.

"Uh-huh." Ms. Krissman says slowly

He doesn't look up at her. He doesn't want to see her expression of disappointment.

"Well, I am far too old to get down on the floor, so you're going to have to get up."

Oh god she really is kicking him out. She's going to dump him on the street and tell him not to come back. 

"No." He blurts out before he can think about it. Then he does think about it and scrabbles at the floor for something to hold on to. there's nothing of course, but that he can try anyway. "I'm not going," he said for good measure. He looked at her and maybe his eyes were a little blurry but it looked like she had one eyebrow raised and a little smile on her face.

"Oh really? Which is it than, going or staying?" 

He slammed a fist down on the stone floor, and didn't even care how much it hurt. "I worked too hard for this. You can't throw me out now. If you do... If you try it I'll just come back. I'll climb the gate and interrupt the ceremony right in the middle of everything." 

She leans back on her heels arms still crossed, "Well, I guess I can't throw you out than."

He rubbed a sleeve across his face, and levered himself up the wall, to face her with his back straight and braced. "No, you can't. I'm going to be a rider!"

Ms. Krissman slowly looked him over, then nodded just as slowly. "I suggest you get to bed then Rider. Wouldn't do for you to be late on the big day." She turned and retreated back into her domain.

Jay nodded. Bed, that sounded good. That sounded like a plan, he should go to bed. He should definitely do that... once he got his legs working again.

 

 

  
Leonard:  
  
Leonard watched the other cadets trickle into the dormitory.

Personally, he wasn't worried but he could see why they might be. Being a rider required a certain strength of personality even over the extensive training. Leonard had grown up surrounded by Riders. Every one of them would and did face death on a regular basis. Each of them knew how to take control under pressure, make snap judgments, and come out alive. Leonard had been trained to do the same since before he could walk.  
For him the question wasn't would he get a dragon, it was what dragon would suit him best? 

His father had a Stormbreaker. They were strong, versatile on the battlefield, and excelled in working independently, partly because few other dragons could fly in the winds they called up. No A Stormbound wouldn't do, not if he was going to be a wingleader, and eventually a commander.

His mother's dragon was a Tidejumper. While they had their moments they weren't as strong as other types. They were lean and elegant fliers, often seen as the aristocrat's dragon. Which was fine for his mother. She knew how to lead but she traditionally did it in a strategy room or a council chamber rather then a battlefield. Leonard planned to do more then that.

A Sunburst would be ideal. They were strong and elegant. On the larger side, they could fly higher then almost any other breed, and rather then simple fire they could concentrate their breath into a focused beam. Sunbursts were rare though, and from the information he'd gathered there weren't any juveniles close enough to come to the choosing. 

So what else?

Ice dragons had a cold reputation for a reason. Sonic dragons were a joke, messengers at best, and nuisances at worst. Firebloods were far too common. Leonard needed to stand out.

A Steel type would be better, a Quicksilver or a ForgeBound. They were versatile, but they tended to have a shorter range then others. Still, that gave the rider a chance to shine as well as the dragon.

Yes, a steel type would be best. Unless there was a Sunburst, or a Nightfury, or maybe a...

Sleep took him before he could make up his mind.   
  
  
  
Kate:  
  
Kate had trained herself to wake up an hour before breakfast typically started. Dragons woke with the dawn and when she became a rider she would need to look after her dragon before looking after herself. On the day of the ceremony she woke even earlier.  The sun was only starting to lighten the sky and wouldn't rise fully above the hills for a half hour. She got up, dressed and crept out of the girls dormitory as quietly as she could. 

She was prepared, or as prepaired as anyone could be.

In her cadet class there was a slightly larger percentage of men than women; 95% of dragons chose riders of the same sex, which meant there was less competition for the dragons likely to choose female riders.

Of course that only improved her odds by a slight margin. 

A lot of people put stock in the training, but the current incarnation of that training had only been in effect for 22 years. Before that there was a less formal gathering. It provided the dragons with a greater number of candidates, but the number of successful riders produced had actually been lower, due to a good number of those chosen being unsuitable to combat in some way. The current system of training was designed to give future riders an idea of what the life of a rider would entail. Those with obligations elsewhere or with a temperament unsuited to the lifestyle were weeded out in those six months, and the land didn't lose a dragon to the sloth or fickleness of a rider.

That would not be a factor for her.

Of course it did not give her an advantage either.

Once the ceremony started each candidate would be given a chance offer their soul to the dragons circling. The soul in this case being the start of the psychic link all riders shared with their dragon. Personality played a large part in creating the link, but a rider also called their dragon with words. Kate had prepared an argument for her candidacy and had it fully memorized. That would likely disingratiate her with some of the dragons but if a dragon was more inclined to the whimsical they were not likely to make a good match in any case. While it was a risk, she considered it an acceptable one.

That left her personality itself and the most important and uncertain factor. Dragons were like humans in personalities varies widely but there was a certain amount of profiling that could be done. It wasn't anything like a guarantee, but it could offer certain insights...

Sonic dragons most often chose riders with light carefree, even whimsical personalities. That meant that one was unlikely to choose her.

Firebloods were the most common breed, and had the widest range of personalities, it was therefore likely that one would be interested. However Firebloods were also very social compared to other dragon races. It wasn't that Kate considered herself antisocial but she wasn't the type of person to spare someone's feelings at the expense of her goals.

RiverWeavers and Tidejumpers often chose people with ambition and flexible minds. The negative side of that stereotype was that those same people tended to be ambitious. That wouldn't be a problem for her.

A Stoneshield or a Forgebound would also likely be a good match. They tended to choose riders who were determined, and self-motivated.

Those would be the dragons she appealed to. She was going to do everything she could to give herself the very best chance.

Kate slipped around the side of the choosing ground. Even now there was a rainbow of dragons circling overhead. At dawn they would all rise, those who had riders, those who were looking for a rider, and those who would never take a rider. 

Only juvinals had the right frame of mind to bond with a human rider, and the bond could only be made once. Dragons had a span of 7-9 years to choose a rider while riders could offer their candidacy for four years so it was rare for humans to match after their first year, while dragons sometimes waited several years before choosing. 

Since Candidates were offered one at a time the order could be a factor. A more patient dragon might forgo a potential match if they thought a more promising candidate would present itself. Kate wasn't the kind of person who hesitated, but she understood that sometimes you had to wait for the right moment to strike. Still arriving before dawn would mean she was close to the front of the line, and that meant a greater number of dragons considering her.

She slipped into the small antechamber where the candidates traditionally waited.

Sandra Bell was perched on a bench staring at the door.

"Have you been here all night?" Kate didn't know why she asked except that it was a way to fill the silence.

"Don't tell Allison?" Sandra asked in turn.

"Why would I?" Kate didn't know Sandra well. Yes they had been in some of the same classes and she respected the other woman's drive, but they hadn't spent much time together outside of that.

"She'd get upset that I didn't sleep..."

Kate shook her head, "Up until twenty years ago it was fairly common for new riders to fast and meditate the night before the choosing. While I personally don't think it improves your chances, I'm not going to discard your beliefs simply becasue I don't share them."

Sandra lifted one eyebrow, a corner of her mouth lifting in something that wasn't quite a smile.

"Thanks I guess."

Kate nodded and turned her attention to the door. "When it's time, you can go in first. I know you were here first."

"It doesn't matter."

"If it didn't matter you wouldn't be here."

Fairness, that was another trait she wanted the dragons to see in her. Even if it meant lowering her own chances.


End file.
